Photographs from Hyrule
by LadyTigerFuyuko
Summary: A collection of drabbles and short one shots that I'm doing for a Livejournal community. Some are AU, all are romance, a few are funny, and others are sad, but all of them are photographs about the relationship between Link and Zelda. Zelink.
1. Chapter 1

**Fuyuko: Why, in all the green earth and blue sky, am I writing these? Seriously, I don't have the time or the dedication needed to write one hundred fanfics, even if there are prompts.**

**Navi: Well, you're the one that signed on. Don't blame the rest of us. **

**Fuyuko: Yeah, but there'll be two hundred fics total! Two-friggin'-hundred! You could have tried to make me see sanity.**

**Navi: And miss all the fun of you whining? No way! Now, let's get her started Disclaimer-Bot!**

**Disclaimer-Bot: The author chick, despite her complaints of temporary madness, wishes me to state that she is secretly enjoying this project, and that she owns no part of the Legend of Zelda franchise or its inclusive characters. Please do enjoy the fruits of her labor.**

**&**

**LoZ OTP100 – Prompt # 32 Motorcycle**

**Warning's: Slight AU for Link's crazy dream. Maybe the angst tones in some parts. Also, these are supposed to be short (500-100words), but this one is a tad long.  
**

**&**

Two blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and long-eared children sat on a pair of wooden swings in the royal garden of Hyrule. The swings were connected to the trellis archway over the youths' heads by thick, braided towing ropes, but their years of service in the play garden of generations of royal children had made it appear as though the twin swings were held up by vines of ivy. A cooling summer breeze blew gently under the trellis, ruffling strands of blonde hair away from the children's faces and rustling the leaves of ivy that their small hands disappeared into, clinging to the ropes beneath. Swinging slowly, using their own legs to push lightly against the green grass, their two young voices could barely be heard of the slight creaking of the ropes and the whisper of the wind through the grass.

It was as if they were conversing about something life-changing and the world wanted to let them have their peace, if only for a temporary time. And once, in a future neither would ever claim to remember, this might have been the truth. At that time, the world had relied on the boy to save it from terrible darkness and on the girl to spare it a second chance at prosperous light. The world had once been on their side, but now it only seemed that time flowed against them, that everything was determined to destroy the fragile friendship they had shared since that other time.

So the two blondes enjoyed every moment they could experience with one another, moments like these, when they could swing and talk quietly. When they could share their fears and their dreams, even if the dreams were silly and the fears sillier after what they'd faced in a future neither would live again.

The boy kicked his left foot a bit harder than necessary against the ground, making a rift of dark dirt appear in the grass he'd gouged. He wasn't wearing his hat today, and the embarrassed blush creeping across his cheeks was more than enough to make him regret that choice. _'It doesn't help that she's laughing at me, darnit,' _he thought, as a scowl slid onto his sun-tanned face. Surely it hadn't been that ludicrous of a dream, and shouldn't she at least have respected that he'd been embarrassed enough to share it? Link, as he was called, found himself wishing there was more than a vine-covered rope to hide his face behind at that moment.

Beside him, the girl giggled openly and perhaps too loudly, ignoring her friend's blush and hurt feelings innocently. She wasn't laughing in a spiteful way, and even with her eyes closed in her emotion, it was clear to see that she more than enjoyed this moment. _'He can be so silly sometimes, it's hard to think of him as a dangerous swordsman,' _she thought, beginning to stifle her good-natured giggles with the back of her white, lacy, gloved, right hand. Ok, so it really hadn't been that odd of a dream to have, but claiming it was a vision? Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, had no problem laughing over that idea, finding his declaration to be the most amusing thing she'd heard in a long time, and wanting to cherish the memory of it forever.

"Zelda, it really isn't that funny! …C'mon, stop laughing at me, princess."

She ignored him a few more seconds, giggles slowing down as she wiped gently at her eyes, trying to compose her face, so that it was impossible to tell she been laughing so hard it made her cry. That, as her tutor kept trying to drill home, was as unladylike as swearing. She was fond of both habits, refusing to be broken, and choosing to keep them as private as possible so she could cling to them.

"No, I guess it really was not that funny, Link. I am sorry for having laughed at your expense. You and my tutors would agree on how rude that was of me."

He balked at that, feeling as though he'd said the wrong thing and wanting to take it back. He wanted her happy, not made into some doll with a face and feelings that only moved as directed. There was no way he wanted to be on the same level with, much less in agreement with, her idiotic tutors. He knew they had no idea that the true strength of a person laid in their individuality, so he did everything he could to keep them from crushing hers.

"It's okay…it's just, well, it really did feel like one of those dreams. I mean, maybe there will be things like that one day. Maybe I can really ride one, with the round things spinning fast on that black stuff, and with a green helmet on, and going somewhere with that cool roaring noise like "Brroooaaaarr", and hey, maybe the big thing over the round bits will really be green too! And I can stop worrying about taking carrots and Epona getting tired, because, y'know, I bet that thing doesn't need food and rest and stuff!" He tried to be a typical boy, throwing in wild gestures and acting out his dream for her. He could never be that boy, but he could at least share something normal and fun with Zelda.

"Link, I think the thing will still need something to move. You need food and rest to move, and you're not a horse." She watched his face in its excitement, and could almost feel as though she'd had a dream about riding a weird metal motion machine too. It helped that Link talked with his hands a lot, something he'd picked up while still trying to learn the Hylian language on his first trip out of his native forest.

"Well, yeah, but I don't think that thing was alive, Zelda. I don't think I ride it if it was, I'd hate to get bucked going as fast as I felt like I was in that dream."

"How fast did you go? I know Epona's fast, was it faster?"

"Definitely! There wasn't any wind in my hair because of the helmet thingy, and I kinda missed that, but the big buildings went by so fast, I couldn't even read the signs on 'em! …Are you sure it wasn't a prophetic dream?"

"Well, no, of course I'm not sure. You know as well as I do that predicting the future is a difficult task, and even when we think we may know what will happen, things always change or happen in ways we didn't expect." He nodded as he listened to her; serious and quiet as he watched the sorrow of that time line her face, sharing in her regret. They hadn't known what they'd been getting into, but he knew they would pay with their personal happiness in this future, the one they wouldn't get to share.

"If you ever do get to ride a metal machine like that, I want to see it too."

"I thought you said it couldn't exist, Zelda. How can I ride one for you if it doesn't exist?"

"Maybe it does. Not here and now, I don't think so, but maybe someday there will be one. And you can ride it around like you do Epona, and I'll clap when you do jumps with it and win races at the yearly festival." Maybe there was another time they were meant to share, and they'd be as close as they had been in the other one, not made to forget each other like they would be here.

"I hope so. I want one so bad. I even named it in my dream! I called it a mou-toh-sigh-kl." Hope, in that thought, that he had seen a future, one where he could ride a motorcycle and she could watch him without being told later how inappropriate their friendship was.

Besides, Zelda really wanted to see Link ride his so-called motorcycle. If it made him look half as cool as riding horseback did, she'd do anything to see it. Even if it meant that leaving the peaceful garden and being put back into a time of turmoil like the one from before, it would be worth it to be together again. Swinging together was lovely, but a ride on a motorcycle with him sounded even better. And then, maybe they could ride off into a sunset together, as a knight and his princess should in the end of their fairytale.

The two blonde children talked and laughed well into the sunset hour, swings left behind as they played in the garden, the rest of the day theirs to enjoy. Even if there never was another time for them, it was fun to imagine what could be, to share these thoughts, and to spend as much time together now to last them a lifetime. It might be all they had, but it was certainly worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fuyuko: In case you missed it earlier, this is just a serial posting of the 100 short fics and drabbles I'm doing from the prompts on OTP100, a fanfic community on Livejournal. So, yes, some of these may be crack, and none of them will go together. Think of this story as a series of photographs in a family album.  
**

**Navi: Yeah, you would love it if Link and Zelda had a family album.  
**

**Fuyuko: And? I see nothing wrong with that. Aren't you be happy about getting Link out of your hair?  
**

**Navi: Maybe. But that's no excuse for setting up possible incest!**

**Fuyuko: Don't start with that. I firmly disbelieve any blood-related Triforce brats theories. Disclaimer-Bot, tell everyone how it is.  
**

**Disclaimer-Bot: Certainly. Readers and reviewers, please direct your attention to the fact that the author is a rabid Zelink shipper, and the world will be a happier place if you do not contradict this to her face. Kindly remember this single unifying them in these stories is Zelink romance, no matter how platonic, and do not enrage the cat-beast. Also, the author disclaims any rights to The Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, or any other characters mentioned. That prestige belongs to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. Thank you and enjoy your fanfiction.  
**

**&**

**Title: Riding on to You **

**LoZ OTP100 – Prompt # 33 Truck  
**

**Warnings: AU, because how else do I get trucks in the Legend of Zelda universe**

**&**

"Get in the bed of the truck then, little hero. I'm going to need all the help I can get against those bandits."

The blonde boy wearing a green t-shirt and tan shorts nodded solemnly, vaulting up into the truck's brown and slightly rusty bed by bracing his hands on the tailgate. Seeing that he was settled, the red-headed woman handed him one of those funny things he'd come to understand was called a shotgun. It acted like his bow did back in Hyrule, but it had a much more powerful kickback and was, as far as he could tell so far, more damaging when it hit a target.

"I don't want you to actually hit the bandits, just aim for their car tires or something that will force them to leave us alone. I don't want you to get in trouble for being a vigilante or anything. I just want to deliver my special shipment of milk safely." He smiled grimly, but it assured her that he wasn't going to do anything foolish. Cremia doubted he would have without the warning, even if the boy didn't talk to her, she had this feeling he had something more important to do than save her sister's cows and her milk shipment.

There was just that feeling, that sense that he wasn't supposed to be here, but that fate had brought him to Termina, maybe even dragged him out of his own time and place to complete some task in her world. Maybe it had something to do with that creepy moon…the scientists at the space research center in Woodfall said it wasn't a problem though. She just didn't know anymore, and the only thing she could do was accept his kind offer of help to her and her sister Romani. That, and give him clothes that were less, well, odd. Who wore a tunic these days?

For his part, the boy remained hunkered down in the bed of her '97 Dekuge Ram truck, holding the gun like he was a pro, even though the younger sister had only taught him to shoot a few days ago. Link had always been a fast learner, it had been more than an asset over the years of time-travel to save his princess. To get back to her, back to Hyrule, he knew he'd have to pull out all the stops, and stretch every skill he had. He calmly checked the ammunition level as Cremia got into the cab, started up the mechanical beast she called a truck and likened to a horse, and drove off.

One step at a time, he would find his way back to Hyrule. One foot in front of the other, always, and he would be ready to jump into whatever portal appeared to take him home. One moment to the next, he would think of her, his princess, and he would never forget where he belonged, even if he had to stay here until his tasks were completed.

Overhead, the looming, grinning, skull-like visage of Termina's moon watched as night fell and the boy from another time defended a truck of milk, just another step on his road back to his princess.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fuyuko: Last one of these intro posts, at least for now. Disclaimer-Bot, if you would state the blanket disclaimer now?  
**

**Disclaimer-Bot: ****Of course. The author is making a blanket disclaimer in this chapter that she does not own the Legend of Zelda, nor any of its characters. Also, this fic is loosely inspired by the very nice artwork "On a Date" by Crazyfreak, which she also does not have any rights to and hopes she is not offending the creator.  
**

**&**

**How to Get a Date (Not Easy Being a Hero)  
**

**LoZ OTP100 Prompt # 21 Soda**

**&**

He'd complained the other day about not having the courage to ask girls their age out on dates yesterday. Said it was stupid for the legendary hero to be afraid of asking a girl out. The pout on his fine, angular face had increased when she'd burst out laughing at this statement, the sharp brows furrowing dangerously near to frustrated blue eyes.

She'd challenged him yesterday to ask one girl he already knew out on a friends-date yesterday, saying it was the wisest way for him to warm up to the practice. She hadn't really thought he'd ask a princess, but then, it made sense in hindsight. Of course, the answer was yes, and a part of her secretly was glad for this one chance to date him.

Today, he had come to get her at their usual meeting spot, the one they'd shared since they were ten years old, and she had been surprised at his thoughtful preparation. He might claim to have trouble asking them on a date, but she couldn't see that he would have trouble getting them to return for more. Any Hylian girl with hormones would agree that Link was eye-candy, and she knew just as many would appreciate a date like this. He hadn't quite gone in for the tried-and-true bouquet or box of chocolates, but Zelda found his single rose-holding fairy doll to be just as sweet.

He was dressed a shade nicer too, she noticed, wearing a white undershirt with his green tunic and a pair of long brown breeches. He'd even combed and parted his hair. On the downside, since she was honestly trying to help him hook a real girlfriend later, she had to force the holding hands deal, which did put a damper on mood. And he was skirting away from actual conversation a bit much, which she found odd, as this was just a casual date between friends.

Zelda had no clue where he was taking her for the actual date, either, which could be taken as both an exciting surprise and an unnecessary stress, depending on the girl in future dates. It was, she found, a worthy surprise for her, as Link had chosen to take them to the new soda shop on the corner of Syks and Kitner. She'd been wanting to try it, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever told him that…if she had, it would be instant bonus points for his potential as a good date. Every girl appreciated a guy who remembered what she said to him, no matter how trivial it might have seemed.

He had her sit at an outdoor table for two, with high stools for seating, and went to order them samples of the new drinks that were the shop's specialty. The atmosphere was great, she noted, which was always good. She found it made people more relaxed if there was extra space. Although, she personally was not enjoying having the guy at the counter staring at her. It was a bit creepy. His outrageously colored hair and the gaudy big red gem inlaid in his headpiece didn't exactly make him look innocent and friendly either. A green shirted figure obscured her view as it passed by, taking her attention off the strange admirer.

Refocusing on her date, Zelda smiled and thanked Link for bringing the drinks…when she noticed that there was only one soda. He'd centered it on the round table-top, and there was a napkin and a straw in front of each of them. Her eyes jumped from the soda to his eyes, only to find the brave hero look shyly at the billboard across the street. She smiled, touched the palm of his left hand, which was resting flat on the table, and calmly unwrapped her straw. He watched her slide it into the soda, visible in the bubbly liquid through the clear glass.

Zelda's smile only grew for the rest of their date, as Link joined her in enjoying their soda after the first few sips. They giggled at the bubbly texture, and were positive the drink made them feel lighter. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that the company was just as sweet as the delicious new drink.


	4. Chapter 4

**LoZ OTP100 – Prompt # 46 Hunting**

**Word Count: 1039, a bit long**

**Warnings: Um, shooting of animals? It is a hunt…**

**Characters: Epona, Link, Zelda, Blanquer**

**Disclaimer: I am not condoning the killing of animals, and I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, or any of the characters in the series. I do own Blanquer's name.**

**&**

The slight sound of hooves rustling leaves broke the quiet of the autumn forest, as a herd of four deer pawed at the ground while eating. The six-point buck and three does were oblivious to the Hylians who'd come to hunt in their woods, enjoying the last sweet grasses of the year. The herd felt they were safe here, nestled in between a knoll with a birch sapling near its peak and the sliver of a forest stream.

In the distance, just before a grassy knoll with a birch sapling, two horses and their Hylian riders paced quietly deeper into the woods. The man on the roan mare with the simple bridle-less saddle had chosen this particular section of the Lost Woods for their hunt because he knew it had deer that wouldn't suspect such intrusion, deer that would be easy for a beginner. He was experienced enough to have had the thrill of chasing down a seasoned nine-point buck and taking the prize home with but two arrows loosed. The hunt today was one he'd gone along on as a friend, one where he wanted to share his own woodsman's secrets.

As the knoll's crest came under the hooves of the two horses, the riders pulled nearly identical vertical hunting bows from their shoulders, knocking two arrows as they crested near the sapling. The woman on the white stallion with the ornate saddle gear and a black forelock had come prepared to hunt, bringing her most responsive horse and a bow that had been hand crafted for her by her companion during their youth, but found herself wanting to begin the hunt under someone experienced. The deer didn't seem to notice their presence, but she was sure that charging down the hill would be the wrong approach, that it would be impossible to catch the fleeing deer, even if they weren't used to being hunted.

"Link? Exactly what is the best way to hunt deer without scaring them into a long chase?"

"Zelda, the chase is the hunt. You can't claim to have hunted deer if you haven't even let them try to get away from you. That's like using your Triforce to beat your political opponents, instead of your own wit."

Zelda, princess of Hyrule, ah'd in the back of her throat, then glanced back down at the secluded clearing where the buck and does were still eating peacefully, oblivious to the Hylian hunters atop the hill. Link, sitting astride Epona and at Blanquer's right flank, resisted the urge to prompt his companion down the strategic left side of the knoll. This hunt was to teach her, not pull her along blindly behind him. She had suggested it, wanting to impress at her father's annual royal hunt tomorrow. He had agreed, wanting to help her become a well-rounded queen for a future when he might not be able to support her.

Finally, she seemed to realize the wind's direction and clenched her breech-clothed legs together around Blanquer's middle, tugging his rein left. Urging Epona forward with a prod from his left knee, her companion followed her down the grass-covered knoll's left side, checking the flight of his arrow as he descended. If the hunt went well from here, Hyrule's crown princess would walk away with a six-point buck to brag about during the morrow's hunt. She would get experience as well, and he knew the single learning opportunity would be enough to serve her well on the king's highly orchestrated hunt.

True that the Hylian king enjoyed a real hunt as much as his daughter's unknown hero companion, Link, but also true that the nobles accompanying him did not. None of them had the patience to really seek out game in the wild, so the annual hunt took place in a section of forest near the old palace that was kept stocked with many deer and game birds. Link had never been to one of the royal hunts, but the king had a standing invitation to enjoy a real hunt with the hero retired to a woodsman's life, courtesy of introductions that Zelda had made between the two.

The two blondes had thought the graying king might accept when this particular trip was proposed, but neither had complained when he had declined. There was scant time for them to enjoy being together now, and that amount would surely decrease as Zelda came closer to coronation. It was a pleasure to be able to pass in the afternoon in the peace of the Lost Woods, even if they were both tense in anticipation of the hunt right now.

Down the left side of the knoll, the two friends rechecked their bows and arrows, before charging into the clearing towards the deer, starting the chase. Link kneed Epona in the left side, urging her to cut between the buck and does, as Zelda surged Blanquer forward, pushing the fleeing buck before her. Her hunting partner fell in behind her, a line of trees between them, knocking his arrow and pulling the bowstring taut as a new, wider clearing came into view. Watching him stand in his galloping mare's saddle, Zelda pulled taut on her own bowstring and urged her stallion to beat out Link's swift mare to the deer.

A thrill surged from her head to her feet as she pulled ahead, thinking that the buck barely inside the clearing was hers. A twang behind her warned that this might not be so, and she watched breathlessly as the shaft whistled through the air, seeming to be true for the buck's heart.

Elation filled her as it missed, and her hunting companion slowed his ride to draw and knock another arrow, as the deer turned to flee again. Excited to have her second chance, the young woman straightened in her own saddle and loosed her arrow after sighting it in front of the running buck.

Smiling proudly, the young man watched as his hunting partner's shaft cleanly pierced the buck's chest mid-leap. Seeing her stop her horse and turn to him, he waved happily and trotted his own horse over to congratulate his friend on a hunt gone well, never intending to let her know he'd missed on purpose.


	5. Chapter 5

**OTP100 Prompt # 12 Red**

**Word Count: 381**

**Warnings: Nothing graphic, but mention of bloodshed and birth**

**Characters: Link, Zelda**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda or any of its inclusive characters and ideas.**

**&**

Red on the fine weave cotton sheets, red of life. Red blood from the new life she'd brought into the world, though the blood was hers and not the child's; Red that was still a stain of the future to come through the torment of the past.

Red on the drapes around the four-poster, red of death. Red blood from the lives he'd taken in her name, the soldiers he'd cut down to defend her and the heir, and his own willingly given in the fight; Red that was a stark stain of contrast on the royal blue curtains and a dark reminder of dangerous times.

He'd always been her staunchest supporter, always come without her call, bound beyond the formal oath he'd taken three years ago as her youngest knight. He'd burst in here early on, wearing his red knight's tunic but not its gilded protective breastplate, insisting it was his duty to protect the queen and her heir when they were most vulnerable. She was thankful he'd gotten here, even if it meant he'd had to fend of the wave of her traitorous husband's soldiers all by himself, because it meant he would know the child they'd both been anxiously awaiting.

He'd paused in the frantic clashing of weapons long enough to hear the first healthy cry of the heir, paused because the sound was sweeter to his ear than anything else. The only midwife to stay through the battle had taken the opportunity to murmur that it was beautiful baby boy, bluest eyes she had ever seen, thinking to soothe its mother's thoughts away from the battle around the birthing bed. He'd taken the fight up harder than before at those words, slashing and chopping with a polished to shine steel sword. The drive had killed off most of her no longer husband's soldiers, the rest had fled, and now his own wounds were revealed to her.

She beckoned him to the four-poster, it didn't matter now what people thought they had shared, and he'd come to her. She'd seen to the wounds she had magic to heal, and exhausted, they'd rested their blonde heads against each other, smiling at the red around them, the red of their separate triumphs becoming one stain to show the day's victory.


	6. Chapter 6

**OTP100 Prompt # 11 Blue**

**Word Count: 125**

**Warnings: Mention of intimate relations, nothing graphic.**

**Characters: Link, Zelda**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters and ideas.**

**&**

Blue sky above them as they lay under Din's burning eye. Blue water beside them as they rested from swimming in the hidden forest lake. Blue blankets surrounding them as they curled together for warmth, their sodden clothes shed atop a boulder.

Blue streaks in her eyes entrancing him as they cuddled intimately as the blue sky darkened. Blue hues in his eyes hiding from her behind his eyelids as their lips met silkily in their private cocoon of blue blankets.

Blue glow from her Triforce escaping their tangle of limbs and blankets as his hands held her hips as their bodies met under the blue of the midnight sky. Blue barrier from his Nayru's Love, shielding their resting bodies after a night of love.


	7. Chapter 7

**OTP100 Prompt # 80 Curse**

**Word Count: 444**

**Warnings: A horrible curse on Link**

**Characters: Link, Zelda, Impa, Navi, the king**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda or any of its inclusive characters, nor I am saying this is a canon event during the OoT game timeline.**

**&**

'_Well, this is just great. No, really. I was waiting my whole life for this.'_ Zelda's giggles became a full-out laugh as Link's disgusted, sarcastic tones sounded in her head. Out loud, he was grumbling to her father about having to crack down on renegade wizards.

"Don't you think we ought to send them all through some kind of daily stocks torment to curb their wild shenanigans?"

"My boy, I somehow doubt that such an edict would have any effect on your current situation. And it would probably incite more trouble than curb it." The laugh in the king's voice only increased the hilarity in the small room off of the castle's medical wing. Impa tried not to chuckle along with her royal employer and charge, but it was difficult, especially when she looked up at the increasingly sour expression on the young hero's face. The usually stoic Sheikah woman let out a dark, throaty chuckle as she looked back down at the potion she was preparing to feed to the ailing youth.

"Impa, please. If you're gonna laugh, do it already. Stop trying to be nice to me, it only makes the truth hurt more." Link's voice was pained and garbled as he responded to his 'helpers' from atop the room's standard medical cot. They could laugh all they wanted to, as long as he didn't have to stay this way. And as long as they managed to stop him from turning into a 'street mongrel', as the wizard had cursed him wanted.

'_Hero of dogs, my fur.r..y…butt. My butt, Dindammit. This is so humiliating.'_

'_Well, if nothing else, you can become my guard-dog.'_ Link rewarded Zelda's private commentary with a withering stare, before accepting the potion Impa handed him. The princess giggled as he drank it, his dark look at her unable to holdup against the foul taste that flooded his mouth. It didn't help that the concotion didn't immediately seem to do any good for reducing the amount of blonde-brown fur that was covering his face and hands. In fact, it might have accelerated the growth of the tail from under the back on his tunic.

"Oh, great goddesses, what did I do to deserve this? Life is so unfair!"

"Link, calm your melodramatics and take this. It's the second part of the potion, the activating part." Impa handed link a purple lozenge which he regarded warily before downing it with an audible gulp. Zelda's laughter died away to an intake of breath as she watched her hero emerge from his furry prison slowly, the hair, claws, and tail disappearing completely with a final pop and a faint odor of dog.


	8. Chapter 8

**&**

**OTP100 Prompt # 19 Toast**

**Title: Breadcrumbs **

**Word Count: 591**

**Warnings: None**

**Characters: Link and Zelda**

**Rating: G**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this.**

**&**

"I'm sorry, it's just toast this morning, honey." He cringed to be using that word with her, when in reality they weren't anything more than old friends, but you never knew who was listening outside the door these days, and they couldn't afford to be caught outside of the lie they were living.

"That's okay, darling, I understand about the food rationing. It's taking a toll on everyone." She might not be their crown princess anymore, but she could still empathize with her people, especially now that she was forced to under what they were privy to as the subjects of the despot that had deposed her.

The pair of blondes knelt in conjuncture at their small, round, stone hearth and offered silent prayers to the goddesses they were no longer allowed to worship openly with proper altars or icons before turning around and crossing the tiny main room to their dining table. A much-dented tin plate from Link's traveling days sat in the middle of the small wooden table, just one piece of toast in its center. They had been given a whole loaf earlier this week, when rations were handed out, but they had also been told that the loaf must last them the next five weeks, besides this one. Rations would not be handed out monthly any more.

Zelda sat first, watching as her supposed husband began carefully slicing the bread in half with a knife from his belt. He placed the two halves back on the plate, then left to get them water from the cleanser he had constructed. The water in this part of Hyrule Castle Town was clogged with sewage these days because the Zoras refused to keep anything except their own river clean in an act of defiance towards the new king. The decision tore at Zelda's heart, because while she wanted to applaud the Zoras for their bravery and undermining of the king, she also knew what torment the dirty water was bringing to the rest of her kingdom's citizens.

Eating slowly in silence, trying to maximize one of the two meals they would have today, both man and woman contemplated the situation they found themselves in. Neither would admit it, but the coup d'etat had been somewhat of a blessing disguised for them as much as it was a body blow. True, Hyrule's people suffered under their selfish and tyrannical new leader, and that the country itself was well on its way to sinking down the drain permanently and none of those things could be idly abided by either of the pair. But, it was also true that the time Zelda was spending in safety and hiding under the noses of her enemies had given the pair an opportunity to spend time together again, which neither could find a complaint about.

Soon, however, this time would draw to a close just as others had before it, and the two of them would be forced to separate once more. Their separate destinies might both have the goal of protecting and caring for Hyrule, but that did not mean the pair of old Hylian friends would be inseparable. More often than not, it seemed, their duties to their country came before any obligation to each other, and both knew that they were also destined to be driven apart, despite wanting to be in contact forever as they friends they were. Sharing a destiny, a duty, even sharing their breakfast toast in this moment, meant nothing for what would become of them in the end.

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	9. Chapter 9

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**OTP100 Prompt # 64 Fall**

**Title: Falling Leaves **

**Word Count: 480**

**Warnings: I realize I never used their names in this, but I wanted to keep it as a familiar recollection by one character, and so, I never had Zelda mention her own name or Link's.**

**Characters: Link and Zelda, passing mention of their parents**

**Rating: G**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this.**

**&**

Her hair is whiter now, as white as the snow that fell heavily just a season after she knew he was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Of course, it had nothing to do with his having saved her from a dangerous fall off of Cuckoo loft in the stables that same day, even if she had still been an impressionable young girl given to flights of fancy about dashing heroes sweeping noble princesses off their feet then. No, it really had more to do with his own laughingly, almost ethereal charm and the way they had become friends shortly after the incident.

They'd known each other all their lives, of course, what with him being the Master of Knights only son, and she being the only child of his mother's best friend, the late queen. His mother had practically raised her, and the two of them had spent much of their childhood getting in each other's hair. When he was ten, however, he received his first haircut and was taken in by the knights as a page, to be properly trained as his father's heir. Because she was also taking lessons in etiquette and politics at the around the same time, the two began seeing less and less of each other until the day he had spared her that more embarrassing than harmful fall.

Little more than six years later, and he was the youngest squire in the history of the kingdom, falling over his own feet at the celebratory ball being thrown for her sixteenth birthday. It had certainly been an embarrassing situation for her now husband, as he had then been not quite a young man and struggling to admit his feelings for her, the princess he had long been friends with. In the end, he had managed to get the words out of his mouth, once she had spared him the public eye by pulling him off by the elbow to get some fresh air in the inner courtyard.

Many seasons later, while both their hair was still golden, he had mustered the courage to ask her to marry him, after a long courtship in which they had both failed somewhat to adhere to traditional conduct. The political fallout of their relationship didn't matter much to them at all, as they loved each other enough not to let the gossip mill get under their hair, and they knew their parents had given blessings to the match early on. It had taken a lot longer, much after their marriage and coronation by Zora's waterfall, for the rest of the kingdom to come around to their marriage and their then new rulers, but as far as her white-haired head was concerned the deal was worth it, because they had always managed to catch each other from every fall either had ever encountered.

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	10. Chapter 10

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**OTP100 Prompt # 57 Ex-friends**

**Title: I Hate You But I Like Your Laugh **

**Word Count: 297**

**Warnings: None**

**Characters: Young Link and Zelda**

**Rating: G**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this.**

**&**

They were definitely, totally, not friends right now. In fact, he didn't give a damn to Din if they were ex-friends for the rest of Time, because he would never, ever be friends with her again. Or any girls, because girls were so stupid. He'd go out and spend the rest of the day with Epona…wait, she was a girl too wasn't she?

'_Horses don't count,'_ Link grumbled to himself sourly, _'especially smart horses like Epona.'_ At least his horse had never been stupid enough to yell at him over a silly joke. Okay, so maybe putting egg yolk in someone's shampoo wasn't such a tiny joking prank, but it wasn't like Zelda had been hurt by it. Stupid! The whole thing was stupid.

Not his loss, though, because he couldn't be friends with someone who'd scream and throw things at him over a prank. If you couldn't take a joke, then there was no reason to be friends with you, as far as the ten-year old was concerned. He'd have thought Zelda would get a laugh out of it, something he thought everyone needed more of, but apparently he'd been, well, wrong.

Maybe it was wrong of him to be mad at her for getting upset about the prank too. The young boy paused in his anger to ponder that new viewpoint. It did seem kind of stupid to consider throwing away their entire friendship over a small fight like this, after all. And he knew Zelda could take a joke, that she loved them just as much as he did. _'I guess we won't be ex-friends for the rest of Time, then. I'd have to be stupid to let my biggest and best fan go just because she didn't appreciate one of my great jokes.' _

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	11. Chapter 11

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**OTP100 Prompt # 86 King**

**Title: Paths **

**Word Count: 608**

**Warnings: None**

**Characters: Link and Zelda**

**Rating: G**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this.**

**&**

He had no idea what would happen now that he had defeated Ganondorf, or rather, the monstrous Ganon, but he was certain it could not present as much difficulty to him as what he had just faced and overcome. Resting his sword point first in the dark, sooty, ground at his feet, the hero tilted his weather-beaten face to the sky to think. There was certainly the rebuilding of Hyrule to be done, and as its champion, he was more than happy to help in that effort.

And, of course, there was re-installing Zelda as the true and proper ruler of the land once again, along with rousing up all the people that had fled the country to come back to the lives they had left behind. But, what else was there? Especially for himself, was there some other adventure waiting or would he be required to sit around as a cherished guardian? Now that his path was clearly his own, Link wasn't sure what to do with it.

"Link? I am glad that you are alright. I would appreciate having you by my side in the future."

He turned at the sound of her voice, its soft, cool tone carrying to his long ears flawlessly despite the crackling flames from the wreckage around them, responding quietly in the low, smooth tone he had become adjusted to at last.

"Princess Zelda, I would be glad to stand by your side a bit longer. Serving Hyrule and protecting its people is still my duty."

"Yes, but I hope you do not agree to stay only out of duty. There are many roads a man can travel, but the only one he will truly learn from is one that he travels out of his own desire."

Why did she look at him that way? He enjoyed it, to be sure, but it also gave him pain to know that he could never return such an openly admiring look to her, as he wanted to. And he didn't understand quite what she meant in that last bit, because surely she knew he did all of this out of love and his personal desire to make things right in Hyrule again. To make things right for her…His blue eyes jumped to her lighter ones as she began speaking once again.

"Link, listen to me. I want you to be happy, but I also want Hyrule to be safe, and I am afraid the two might become at odds. As the reclaimer of the crown, you alone have the right to the throne as of this moment, and may choose to do with it as you wish."

"What? Princess, no, the throne is yours, I only did this for yo..u.." He trailed off, embarrassed at that admission. They were supposed to be friends.

"I am aware of that, but the only way to put me back on the throne is to give the crown to me. You can do this in an official ceremony when the nobility return, or you can do it by having a holy man bind us in marriage. But Link, remember I want you to be happy, not bound by duties."

It must have surprised her that he laughed aloud then, even more so when he swept her up in his strong arms to twirl her around and down into their first kiss. The first of many, he now knew, as his path was laid before him again. Become king at her side, king of the country he loved as much as the woman he could marry to make his queen? That was certainly no troubling path at all.

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	12. Chapter 12

**OTP100 Prompt # 30 Sister **

**Title: Where I'd Like to Sail **

**Word Count: 356**

**Warnings: None **

**Characters: Link and Tetra/Zelda, Arryl **

**Rating: G **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this. **

**& **

"That's my sister, Arryl. She's the one that saw your ship way back then."

"Guess I should thank her too, then? Look, I don't open my ship up to anyone kid."

"Aww, c'mon, Tetra, you already did. You rescued her from the fortress for me, remember?" She followed his gaze over to the girl, playing with a seagull that had landed on the deck of her ship. It was pretty weird to see a seagull way out here, but at least it wasn't messing with her sails.

"Look, you've got a boat, why don't you take her to Outset and be on your merry way?" She hated looking at his eyes when she said that, there was just something there that made her want to go back on her word. Anyways, she wasn't a ferryman, and her crew had spent enough time loafing around already.

"The King of Red Lions says I can't take her. I have to go and strengthen the Master Sword as fast as possible." The pleading tone was just as bad as looking at his eyes. Didn't that Link kid know to give a feared pirate her space?

"Link, if it'll make you shut up and get off my ship, I promise I'll get your sister to Outset. Eventually. My crew and I are pirates, so our business comes first and any ships we come across on the way are going to get raided. You really want your baby sister around all that?"

"Arryl's not a baby Tetra, and I'm sure if you asked, she'd even help out with lookouts and such. I'm glad you're taking her to Outset for me, I know you'll keep her safe."

That smile of his was really dorky and it got under Tetra's skin that she'd been duped so easily into doing something for him again. For free too! It disgusted her that she was stuck babysitting his kid sister while he was out there, having adventures. …She wanted to go on those adventures with him, not get stuck on this boring boat with a sister who looked too much like the guy she couldn't resist.

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	13. Chapter 13

**OTP100 Prompt # 73 Hour**

**Title: Why I'm Waiting **

**Word Count: 418 **

**Warnings: None **

**Characters: Link and Sheik/Zelda, Rauru and Impa mentioned **

**Rating: G **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this. **

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It was down to the final hour, he knew it. Rauru wasn't here today at their usual meeting hour of meeting, and so, his guest had sat down in the back of the Temple of Time to wait for what was coming. The old sage had told the mysterious Sheikah that the only way he would ever leave the Temple was when its new protector was ready to appear.

That meant it had to be down to the final hours, at least, if not the very last one itself, because the young man doubted Rauru wanted to leave the last Temple bare to the King of Evil's raging too long. Stretching his long, lean legs before him silently, like a cat awakening from a nap, the Sheikah youth stood up, still cloaked in the shadows at the very back of the ancient Temple. Usually he was patient to a fault, but at the moment he couldn't help but feel excitement, although he had no idea why. It was like that feeling in the back of your mind, one of anticipation for something you instinctively know will change your life.

But of course, after this hour, his life would change forever. No longer would he be forced to wage a one man war against Ganondorf, a war he had admittedly never really had hope of winning. He wasn't the one supposed to win, as Rauru had explained to him. That task was reserved for the one he was waiting for, the legend he was about to witness come alive. He just hoped the hero was up to the task, because if he failed…but somehow, Sheik knew that was not going to happen, he knew he could trust this other man with his life. His mentor, Impa, had told him the man had helped her save the Princess following the attack on Hyrule Castle. That must be why he felt such a firm belief welling up in his heart, dispelling his doubts like a cloud of darkness.

Waiting in real darkness, Sheik shook off his thoughts as he pondered the correct words to utter to the Hero of Time at their first meeting. He wanted the man to trust him with the same unwavering intensity that he himself already had in his soon to be new contact. It might not be important to saving the land of Hyrule, but Sheik felt it was important to saving himself, to making himself more than just another messenger in the eyes of the hero.

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	14. Chapter 14

**OTP100 Prompt # 44 Fish and # 47 Fishing**

**Title: Nice Catch **

**Word Count: 987 **

**Warnings: None **

**Characters: Link and Zelda, the Hylian Loach, the fisherman **

**Rating: PG **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this. **

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"So what are we here to catch Link?"

"Shh. It'll hear us, and I want to have the element of surprise." The princess was giving him a shocked look, he was sure, but he couldn't afford to have idle chit-chat distracting him right now. Besides, if he mentioned its name, it would surely jinx his chances of catching it, even if he had brought Zelda for good luck.

As Link quietly set the slim tackle box he had bought with him down on some mossy rocks near the edge of the fishing lake, Zelda shook her head and spread out a small square of cloth on the dirt a few feet back from the water's edge. She didn't know how to fish, and to be honest, she wasn't sure why Link had wanted her to come on his trip out here. Ruto would have been a better choice for something like this, considering that Zoras were the best fishermen in Hyrule, even though true Hylian fishermen considered their method unorthodox to the point of being criminal. At least it didn't seem as though he wanted her to fish with him, since the only rod she saw was his personally made one.

"Alright, I think I'm ready. Zelda, I want you to just sit quiet there for a bit, okay? Oh, and wish me luck. Lots of luck."

"Are you even going to tell me what it is you're after that requires this luck-wishing?" She resisted the urge to laugh at the exasperated face he turned to her, telling herself she didn't want to ruin this trip for him. She didn't actually expect Link to respond, much less to hunker down on his haunches so close to her side to whisper conspiratorally in her long ear.

"I'm trying to catch the Hylian Loach, Zelda. It's the biggest catch a Hylian fisherman can make, and I'm going to do it."

As he was getting up, Zelda saw a determined grin was fixed onto Link's handsome features, and she couldn't help but silently root him on. It might jut be a fish to her, but apparently it was a much bigger deal to him, and Zelda wanted him to be proud of something he had done for himself. He had plenty to be proud of where taking care of others was concerned, but everyone deserved to have success at something that was completely their own venture. Link cast his line as far out into the waters as he could manage, his whole body tense in anticipation already, even if he did have to wait. Zelda noted that he was wearing the iron boots on his feet, and she vaguely wondered if catching a fish required the use of such equipment.

Seeing his tense form twitch almost imperceptibly, Zelda looked up in time to see all of the muscles in the hero's back draw tight as he began reeling in reeling in his line with fervor. It might not be the Hylian Loach he was looking for, but whatever he had caught, his excitement had caught her as well, as she jumped up from her seat on the blanket. Link dug his boots in, feeling the muscles in both of his arms strain against the powerful fish he had finally managed to snag. Oh sure, he'd gotten it to bite and play along before, but he'd never really considered it within his catching it until now. Bringing Zelda as a good luck charm had definitely paid off, he was sure of that. He could even make out the pattern on its scales clearly, that was how close the Loach was.

"Zelda! Get the net, get the net!" He couldn't be sure she'd grabbed it, but he didn't doubt that she'd heard him, and she could see he couldn't get the net himself. Farore, that fish was a whopper alright! It was still a few feet from netting distance and already it was the biggest fish he'd ever laid eyes on. Link concentrated on reeling it in and not snapping his line, something the big fish had done to countless fishermen before him.

"Here, where do you want me to put it?" She couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice, not when she could see the size and beauty of the fish he had almost reeled into the shoreline. If that wasn't the Hylian Loach, then she didn't know what to think about a fish more impressive than that, or if there even was one. Zelda hadn't actually gotten a verbal directive from her friend, but she was smart enough to move the heavy net he'd brought along towards the edge of the shore he was tugging the fish towards.

Practically tugging the loach and grunting with exertion, Link managed to wrestle the fish he'd been dreaming of catching ever since his childhood into the net Zelda was holding tightly onto at his right side. Dropping his freed rod off to the left, Link gave Zelda a face-splitting grin as he picked up the net and it's thrashing contents, carrying them swiftly over to the owner's counter. Picking up his discarded rod, Zelda grabbed the tackle box and blanket, skirt swishing as she followed Link's almost bouncing steps over to the counter in time to see the owner shake hands with Link and hand him a prize.

There was a tank on the right side of the counter, in which the huge fish Link had just caught was now swimming, on display for everyone to see. The hero couldn't resist a smug grin as he passed by it, holding the door open for Zelda as they left the fishing lake successful. The grin on Link's face was soon occupied, however, as Zelda grabbed his green tunic front and tugged him forward for the 'fishing hero's kiss', standing on the ledge overlooking the renewed vastness of Lake Hylia sparkling in the sun.

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	15. Chapter 15

**OTP100 Prompt # 8 Cops**

**Title: Co-workers **

**Word Count: 190 **

**Warnings: None **

**Characters: Link and Zelda **

**Rating: G **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, or any of its inclusive characters or ideas, blah, blah, blah, don't raise litigations on me for this. **

**& **

They'd played a lot of games in their youth, but it seemed the one he and his childhood neighbor had played the most was cops and robbers. They'd get off the bus everyday after school, and almost always the pair of blond children would launch into the frenzied game of good versus bad, chasing each other around the pristinely green lawns of their subdivision, making siren sounds, having pretend gunfights, and doing jail-time until their mothers called them in for dinner.

Now it wasn't a game anymore, and while neither of them was a robber, he was definitely a cop, and she was certainly a part of the long arm of the law herself, as a public lawyer. They still chased each other, only this time, it was all over the city, and they were frequently working together to chase someone else down, a real robber or worse. And, instead of going home to separate dinners, they often went out for dinner together because of equally late hours spent on the job, although he privately enjoyed being invited to her place for a real home-made meal better than any restaurant fare.

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End file.
